A RESTAURATEUR from Coventry fears her family may be dead following bomb attacks in the Middle East.

Manal Timraz, who owns Coventry’s Middle Eastern restaurant Habibi, was talking with her brother and niece when the telephone went dead as an Israeli air strike targeted Gaza.

More than 300 people have so far been confirmed dead as a result of the attacks.

Now, watching the TV news from their home in Walker’s Way, Kenilworth, Manal and her two sons Ahmad, 15, and Omar, 13, can only wait and hope.

She said: “This is supposed to be a time of celebration for everyone and for all religions.

“But more than 300 people have been killed in these attacks, including children. Why should children lose their lives while the rest of the world is celebrating Christmas and the start of a New Year? I am devastated.”

Manal’s brother Ahmad lives in Gaza with his 21-year-old daughter Reem, who is studying to become an optician.

Speaking yesterday, Manal said: “We lost contact with them last night. We were speaking with them over the phone, and we were laughing and crying and making jokes just to make it easier for us.

“Then the electricity was cut off with explosions right next to them. At this moment I just do not know if my family are alive or not.”

Manal, 39, has recently become a trustee of international movement One Voice, working to bring peace between Israel and Palestine.

She said: “Our leaders are fighting and who’s paying the price? Us – the civilians.

“Coventry suffered this devastation so many years ago but now all sorts of people can live together here in a city of peace.”